Device for filling receptacles with cylindrical articles



Apnl 15, 1952 G. BARDET 2,592,642

DEVICE FOR FILLING RECEPTACLES WITH CYLINDRICAL. ARTICLES Filed July 18,1945 3 Sheets-Sheefl'l 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 1952' G. BARDET DEVICE FORFILLING RECEPTACLES WITH CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES Flled July 18, 1945 Aprll15, 1952 G. BARDET 2,592,642

DEVICE FOR FILLING RECEPTACLES WITH CYLINDRICAL. ARTICLES Filed July 18,1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Apr. 15, 1952 DEVICE FOR FILLINGRECEPTACLES WITH CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES Grard Bartlet, Paris, FranceApplication July 18, 1945, Serial No. 605,669 In France December 7, 1943Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires December 7,1963 Claims.

The present invention has for its object a device for fillingreceptacles with articles identical to each other, for instancespherical, cylindrical or tubular articles, without leaving emptyspaces, and whilst avoiding damaging said articles in any way whatever.

Numerous filling up devices already exist suitable for all kinds, ofarticles or products to be stored in receptacles. Many givesatisfaction; but when fragile products are contemplated, as forinstance small glass flasks, cigarettes, etc., a difficulty isencountered owing to the fact that itis impossible to allow saidarticles to fall, even from a small height, into the receptacle.Moreover, in particular if cylindrical products are under consideration,and for certain relative dimensions of the articles and receptacle,during a falling operation, the articles'would risk be coming placedcrosswise and, consequently, the filling would be incorrect.

The present invention is intended to obtain a distribution and fillingwithout dropping the articles.

For that purpose the device according to the invention in which thearticles are admitted through a channel in the receptacle tob e filled,is characterised in particular by the fact that said receptaclecomprises a movable bottom, having an automatic movement, and thatsuitable means determine the displacement or said bottom and space itaway from the zone in which the articles issuing from the channel, areadmitted, under the thrust of saidarticles, as soon as they accumulateat the outlet of said channel.

Said channel is preferably constituted by one or more endless bandsdrawing along the articles, with a uniform movement of translation,towards the receptacle to be filled.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the excessiverush of the articles produces the displacement of a movable guide whichcontrols the mechanical engagement or the electric circuit determiningthe forward movement of the movable bottom.

According to another embodiment of the invention the endless bandconstituting the upper Wall of the channel admitting the articles isextended above the receptacle to be filled; it is formed of severalparallel strips between which passthe teeth of a plate pivoting about afixed axis'and provided with a tail-piecewhich can come incontact with acatch carried by a rod capable of actuating the clutch ble bottom inmotion.

The invention is more particularly sppiibie setting the mova spring [2a.

to the case in which the receptacle has the form of a magazine or of arecess having a rectangular cross section, but it can also be applied toreceptacles of various other arrangements.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, threeembodiments of the new device have been illustrated in the accompanyingdiagrammatic drawing.

Fig. 1 shows a device the control of which is purely mechanical.

- Fig. 2 shows a modified device with an electromechanical control.

Fig. 3 illustrates a device for laterally ejecting the articles from thereceptacle after filling. Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively an elevationand a side. view showing another embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-section through the axis. of the pushermember. Referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that i denotes thereceptacle .to be filled. Said receptable is open on the side which, inthe position illustrated in the drawing, is located at the upper part.It is also open on the rear side, that is to say on the side located inrear-of the plane of the drawing.-

The articles 2, which are to be housed in said receptacle, are admittedon an endless band 3, passing on hearing members 4, 5 suitably profiledso that in the vicinity of the receptacle, the endless band 3 has acertain inclination. In the inclined Ypart, opposite the endless band 3,an auxiliary endless band 6 is provided, having the same linear speed asthe endless band 3. The articles 2 are therefore, in their final pathtightly pressed between the endless band 3, on the one hand, and theendless band 6 and a guide 1, on the other hand.

Said guide 1 is constituted by an endless belt, the linear speed ofwhich is the same as that of the endless bands 3 and 6; it is soarranged as to be moved under the thrust produced by the articlesentering the channel between the endless bands 3 and 6. For thatpurpose, said belt is carried by three pulleys 8, 9, I0, pulley 8 beinga driving pulley and also actuating endless band 6. Pulley 9 whichsupports the belt at the inlet of receptacle I, is carried by a bentlever l l, pivotally mounted on a fixed spindle l2 and subjected to theaction of a returning Pulley H), .which supports the belt at its upperpart, is carried by an arm [3, pivot ally mounted about a fixed spindlel4 and constantlyurged byfa spring I5.

In the receptacle I to be filled is arrangedamiovablebdttom, l6... Thelatter can be raised and lowered by a suitable mechanism. For instance,the bottom is rigid with a rack l'l, meshing with a pinion I8, fast on ashaft I9, carrying a clutch member with which can come in engagement amember 2|, forming the counterpart of the clutch, rigid with a pulley22, continuously rotating. The unit formed by the pulley 22 and theclutch member 2| can slide on shaft [9, under the action of a bent lever23 to which is attached a rod 24 pivoted, on the other hand, on the endof one .of the .arms of bent lever II.

The operation is as follows:

The bottom 16 is first of all placed iin its uppermost position. At thismoment it is located 7 against the orifice admitting the articles and atthe level of the upper part of the receptacle.

The endless bands 3, 6 and (are setin'inotion and the articles 2 rushtowards the filling orifice. As they cannot issue forth owing to theobstacle created by the movable bottom 16, the guide 7 moves away untilthe lever 23 engages together members 29 and 2|. :The bottom l6 thenlowers and allows the articles to 'enter the receptacle. 7

If the respective speeds of the endless bands and bottom It are exactlyadjusted, the filling up orifice is rapidly cleared. Guidel, restored byspring 2a, then resumes "its starting position. The two members 2!] and2| of the clutch separate and the bottom If ceases to lower. Then thecycle begins over again without there ever being a miss in the filling,nor, consequently, any appreciable space between the articles 'becomingpacked above the bottom 16.

'When bottom IS has reached its lower position, which is adjusted inaccordance with the lower part of receptacle I, the latteris completely:full and its charge can be transferred, for :instance by lateralpushing 'or ramming, into a box, "tank, or any suitable chamber. In Fig.3 has been shown byway of example -a ramming device 25 which can beactuated by hand or mechanically.

'In the modification of Fig.2, the control of the clutch '202I is anelec'tromagnetical control. The endless belt I constituting the movableguide passes over a set of pulleys 2'6, 27, 28, 29, 30. Pulley 26 is thedriving pulley which actuates'the belt '1 at the same speed as endlessbands '3 and 6, 'aspreviously stated. The lower pulleys '21 and 28 arecarried by two arms 31, 32 .completinga kind of parallelmotion. Saidarmspivot on fixed pivot pins 35, 34 and are subjected to the action ofa spring 35 maintaining the belt under tension. The reversingpulleys 29and '30 are mounted concentrically with the axes'of rotation of arms 34,'32. The movable unit 3|, 32 is'restored by a spring 31a. Arm 3! carriesa contact 36 which can come in contact with a fixedcontact 31establishing the circuit of an electroma'gnet 38 the armature or whichcontrols, by means of a bent'lever 39, the clutching of the two members20, 21,

similar to. those shown in Fig. 1.

The-operation of this device is as follows:

When t-he guide 1 moves away under the rush ol'the articles, contact 36,'37 is closed; the electromagne't 38 operates and causes the bottom IEto lower, until guide resumes its initial position and'so on. r

'As will be "seen, the filling takes place automatically, without leavinempty spaces in the receptacle, and while avoiding any shock or pressureliable to damage the articles stored. a

In the device shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the articles "2 which are to behoused in said receptacle I are led, as previously; through a passageformed by the two endless bands 3 and 6 which advance at the same speed.The upper endless band 6 is extended beyond the receptacle by passingover pulleys 40, 4|, 42, the first being a driving pulley and the othersacting as reversing pulleys. The endless band figis formed of severalparallel strips 6a, 5b,;6c, passing over as-many pulleys 40a, 40b, 40c,as'seen in Fig. 5. Between said strips pass the teeth or branches of aplate 50, constituting a kind of rake or .fork, against which press thearticles 2 which advance in the passage formed by the two endless bands3 and 6; said plate rotates at 54 and is extended by a tail-piece 52which can .come in engagement with a catch 43 carried by a rod 44,pivoted with a lever 45, pivotally mounted about the spindle 46. Saidlever, which is-siibjected to the action of a returning spring 41, isconnected by a connecting-rod 48 to the lever 23 controlling the clutch.

The operation is as follows: Owing to its weight,

plate 50 tends to occupy the position illustrated in run lines in the.drawing. When the articles admitted by the passage .356 have filled thespace comprised between the walls of the receptacle, thejmovable bottoml6 and plate '50, they push back the plate by causing it .topivo't'abou't'spindle 5-! until it assumes the position indicated in dotand dash lines. At'this moment,'tail-piece .52 encounters catch -43,which sets the clutch in action; so that the movable bottom lowers. The.ar- 'ticles cease pressing against the inlet of the receptacle, and theplate tends to bear against the catch, the clutch is uncoupled and thebottom stops. The articles again accumulate, the clutch is recoupled,the bottom lowers and so on until the receptacle is completely full. Atthis moment the .ram or pusher member 25 (Fig. '6) is actuatedibyhand ormechanically as in the case-already described with reference to Fig. -1whereby the cigarettes or the like objects are urged laterally out ofthe stationary receiver 1 as a bulk and enter a removable container 53which is then carried away. The lateral displacement of the ram .25' .ispreferably ensured mechanically through an arrangement which is not and.need noti-be illustrated. i

It 'is to "be understood that the above arrangements have been givenonly by way or examples and that numerous modifications can be madetherein without departing from the scope of the invention.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:r

1. An arrangement for the filling of containers withe. large number ofsimilar articles in superposed .layers, comprising a packing chamberassuming throughout its height an unvarying-cro'sssectional shape, ahorizontal platform slidingly fitted inside said chamberand forming avertically adjustable bottom for the latter, means forcontrolling thelowering movement-of the platform, means for .feeding the articlesindependently of one another into the chamber to allow said articles todrop in succession with their axes .13;- mg horizontally over the inlet.end of the platform, to roll over the latter .and to form a horizontallayer thereon, said feeding means including'aconveyor beltcarrying thearticles and feed-- ing'them to the corresponding end .of the chamber,an endless belt covering the articles lying over a section of the firstbelt leading to the inlet of the packing chamber and extending beyondsame over the upper .end of the packing chambar," and means forconstraining the two belts to advance at a uniform speed, the speed or.the two belts being always equal and of same direction, a feeleradapted to pivot around a horizontal stationary axis parallel to thedirection of the axes of the articles lying on the platform and engagingthe foremost article of a layer moving under the pressure of thesucceeding articles and submitted to the horizontal thrust of saidforemost article, and means whereby said feeler controls theplatform-lowering means to lower said platform each time the feeler hasreceded to the end of its allowed path corresponding to the arrival ofsaid foremost article at the end of the chamber opposed to the inletpoint of the platform thereof.

2. An arrangement for the filling of containers with a large number ofsimilar articles in superposed layers, comprising a packing chamberassuming throughout its height an unvarying crosssectional shape, ahorizontal platform slidingly fitted inside said chamber and forming avertically adjustable bottom for the latter, means for controlling thelowering movement of the platform, means for feeding the articlesindependently of one another into the chamber to allow said articles todrop in succession with their axes lying horizontally over the inlet endof the platform, to roll over the latter and to form a horizontal layerthereon, said feeding means including a conveyor belt carrying thearticles and feeding them to the corresponding end of the chamber, anendless belt covering the articles lying over a section of the firstbelt leading to the inlet of the packing chamber and extending beyondsame over the. upper end of the packing chamber and means forconstraining the two belts to advance at a uniform speed, the speed ofthe two belts being always equal and of same direction, a feeler adaptedto pivot round a horizontal stationary axis parallel to the direction ofthe axes of the articles lying on the platform, said feeler enga ing theforemost article of a layer moving under the pressure of the succeedingarticles and submitted to the horizontal thrust of said foremostarticle, and means whereby said feeler controls the platform-loweringmeans to lower said platform each time the feeler has receded to the endof its allowed path corresponding to the arrival of said foremostarticle at the end of the chamber opposed to the inlet point of theplatform thereof.

3. An arrangement for the filling of containers with a, large number ofsimilar articles in superposed layers, comprising a packing chamberassuming throughout its height an unvarying crosssectional shape, ahorizontal platform slidingly fitted inside said chamber and forming avertically adjustable bottom for the latter, means for controlling thelowering movement of the platform, means for feeding the articlesindependently of one another into the chamber to allow said articles todrop in succession with their axes lying horizontally over the inlet endof the platform, to roll over the latter and to form a horizontal layerthereon, said feeding means including a conveyor belt carrying thearticles and feeding them to the corresponding end of the chamber, a

seriesof parallel endless strands covering the articles, lying over asection of the first belt leadpivot round'an axis parallel with the axisof the articles on the platform and to engage the'intervals between theendless strands and projecting into engagement with the foremostarticlesof a layer moving under the'pressure of the succeed ing articles andsubmitted to the horizontal thrust of said foremost article andmeanswhereby said blades control the platform-lowering means to lower saidplatform each time the blades have receded to the end of their allowedpath corresponding to the arrival of said foremost article at the end ofthe chamber opposed to the feeding means.

4. A device designed to fill receptacles with articles, including aloading chamber, a travelling band driven by a uniform movement supporting the articles and bringing them toward the loading chamber along a,slight slope, said travelling band offering upon arrival above theloading chamber a region vertically inflected toward the lower part topermit the articles to leave said travelling band and to alignthemselves by gravity in the loading chamber, an endless belt driven bya uniform movement of the same speed and in the same direction as themovement of the travelling band, said endless belt being placed abovethe travelling band and parallel to the travelling band in the region inwhich the travelling band has a slight slope in order to cover thesearticles placed side by side in a single layer on the travelling band,up to the region vertically inflected toward the lower part of thetravelling band, a platform mounted in a sliding fashion vertically tothe bottom of the loading chamber to support the articles which arealigned by gravity in the loading chamber, an arm mounted to pivot abouta horizontal axis above the loading chamber, a pulley mounted at thelower end of this arm with respect to the region vertically inflectedtoward the lower part of the travelling band, a belt passing over thepulley to form with the region inflected toward the lower part of thetravelling band a vertical corridor by which the articles are aligned bygravity in the loading chamber, and means driven by said arm to controlthe descending movement of the platform when the articles which arrivein the vertical corridor delimited by the region vertically inflectedtoward the lower part of the travelling band and the region of thesecond mentioned belt which passes around the pulley find the loadingchamber filled, and occur in several layers in this vertical corridor,pushing back the second mentioned belt and the pulley and causing thearm to pivot about its horizontal axis.

5. A device designed to fill receptacles with articles, including aloading chamber, a travelling band driven by a uniform movementsupporting the articles and bringing them toward the loading chamberalong a slight slope, said travelling band having, upon arrival abovethe loading chamber, a region vertically inflected toward the lower partto permit the articles to leave the travelling band and to alignthemselves by gravity in the loading chamber, an endless belt driven bya uniform movement of the same speed and in the same direction as themovement of the travelling band, the endless belt being placed above thetravelling band and parallel to the travelling ing to the inlet of thepacking chamber and exv tending beyond same over the upper end of thepacking chamber and means for constraining said band in the region inwhich the travelling band has a slight slope to cover these articlesplaced side by side in a single layer on the travelling band, up to theregion vertically inflected toward the lower part of the travellingband, a platform j -mounted so as to slide vertically to the bottom ofthe loading chamber to support the articles ward :the'lower partof thetravelling band a ver- 7 tical corridor by which the articles arealigned by gravityin the loading chamber, and electromagnetic xneansdriven by this arm to control theadescendi-ng movement of the platformwhen the articles which arrive in the vertical corridor delimited by theregion vertically inflected toward the .lowerl rart of the travellingband and the region of the :second mentioned belt which passes aroundthe pulley find the loading chamber filled andoccur in :several layersin this vertical corr-idozt, pushing back the second mentioned belt lit)and the pulley and causing thearm to pivot about 20 itshorizontalaxts, vGERARD BARDET.

, REFERENQES CITED The following references are of record in the fileo'f this patent:

l UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 7168.,104 Wieda A-ug.]23, 19-041 8 173715 Keyes Apr. 10, 1906 $924,012 Matthews et a1. Apr. 23, 19121,105,322 :Cox July 28, .1914 1,208,803 Lienau -et :al. v :Dec.'.19,1-916 1,433,328 Wright Oct. 24, :1922 1,661,969 Semashko Mar. 6, 19281,831,130 Mudd Nov. 1-0, 1931 2,065,674 Fay Dec. 29, 1936 2,173,860.

Reynolds -l Sept. 26, 1939

